


To Be Known...Or Not

by Ionaonie



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Episode Tag, M/M, Pre-Slash, episode s02e01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-28
Updated: 2011-12-28
Packaged: 2017-10-28 08:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/305817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ionaonie/pseuds/Ionaonie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur inspects the castle after the attack. Merlin worries that he may ask a few awkward questions about how he escaped the dungeons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Be Known...Or Not

**Author's Note:**

> Betaed by thisissirius, tahariel and loki_dip. All remaining mistakes are mine.

‘Come on, Merlin.’

Merlin looked up from where he was putting Arthur’s clothes away. ‘Where are we going?’

Arthur grimaced. ‘My father wants me to inspect the castle to see what damage was done.’

Merlin pulled a face. ‘So why do I need to come with you?’

‘Because if I’m going to be bored out of my mind you damn well will be as.’

‘That’s unfair,’ protested Merlin, slamming the drawer closed.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. ‘Fair?’

Merlin sighed. ‘You’re right. Who am I to think that you could ever be fair?’

‘Well, you are an idiot,’ allowed Arthur, but his tone was light, nothing like it had been while Cedric had been around.

Merlin rolled his eyes but otherwise didn’t say anything.

So for the following couple of hours Merlin trailed behind Arthur, bored out of his mind, as the prince and a couple of builders and architectures discussed building integrity throughout Camelot. They were talking about costs, materials, angles and, well, other things that Merlin really didn’t care to know about.

He was kicking a clod of earth, waiting for Arthur to stop being so contentious, when he was wrenched out of his mind-numbing boredom by Arthur pronouncing they were going down to inspect the dungeons.

‘Is…is that really, uh, necessary?’

‘No, Merlin, of course it’s not. It will be absolutely fine if we fix the castle only for it to fall into the dungeons because we decided they weren’t important enough.’

‘So, necessary then?’

‘Yes, Merlin, it’s necessary,’ said Arthur dryly.

‘Okay then,’ said Merlin, his stomach dropping. There was no way Arthur couldn’t wonder at the damage that Merlin had caused escaping from his cell.

Merlin scowled. Of course, if Arthur hadn’t been such an arse and thrown him in the dungeons he wouldn’t have had to escape in the first place.

He watched with mounting dread as Arthur got closer and closer to his demolished cell. He hadn’t really been paying attention at the time, more concerned with getting to Arthur, but he rather thought he might have gone over the top and made a bit of a mess. The kind of mess that couldn’t be easily explained away.

‘As you know, Sire, there wasn’t much damage done to the foundations or the dungeons,’ said one of the architects.

‘But…’ prompted Arthur.

‘But with the exception of this area here.’ The architect looked around, frowning. ‘There is extensive damage around here for some reason.’

Merlin watched nervously as Arthur stepped over the rubble and into the cell. He glanced over at the bars, shaking his head. ‘Any ideas why the damage is so much worse here?’

‘I’m sorry, Sire, but there is no reason that I can ascertain.’

Arthur acknowledged the man, but he was walking around the room slowly.

Merlin watched him, just waiting for the moment when Arthur was going to accuse him of using magic to blast the bars out of the wall.

‘I would have thought the reason was obvious,’ said Arthur.

The man exchanged uneasy glances with his colleagues. ‘You would, Sire?’

‘I would. Wouldn’t you agree, Merlin?’

‘I, uh…ummm…’ stammered Merlin. His eyes widened with shock. Surely Arthur wouldn’t expose him like this. Merlin has always thought that Arthur would either confront him privately, probably with the wish for Merlin to disprove his accusations, or announce it to the whole court.

‘It’s because this cell in nearly directly under the courtyard and that’s where the monsters concentrated their attacks.’ Arthur’s voice was flat and Merlin recognised the self-censure. Arthur was once again blaming himself for not being able to stop the monsters before they had been able to kill such a large portion on Camelot’s population.

Merlin frowned. ‘It…is?’ He hadn’t actually realised that.

The architects, on the other hand, looked slightly embarrassed that the prince had worked out something they hadn’t. If Merlin wasn’t so busy freaking out, he would be finding their expressions of dismay hilarious.

‘We…had not realised that this dungeon was so close to where the monsters had attacked, Sire. Our apologies for not realising it sooner.’

Arthur waved away their apologies, staring, instead at the floor. ‘Merlin,’ said Arthur slowly.

‘Y…yes, Sire.’ He still couldn’t quite believe that Arthur hadn’t realised that magic was involved.

‘This was the cell you were in, wasn’t it?’

‘Yes, Sire, it was.’ Merlin wasn’t so completely unobservant that he didn’t notice how Arthur looked vaguely uncomfortable mentioning Merlin’s stay in the dungeons.

Arthur glanced over at the other men who were waiting by the door, obviously trying very hard to pretend not to listen to what Arthur was saying. ‘You may all go. We’ll meet tomorrow to discuss the repairs and improvements.’

‘Yes, Sire.’

‘Of course, Sire.’

The men all bowed before leaving.

Arthur turned his attention back to Merlin. ‘How did you not get injured?’

Merlin shrugged. ‘Lucky, I guess.’

Arthur nodded. ‘I dunno, Merlin. That seems more than luck to me.’ He glanced around again, his eyes lingering on a couple of large pieces of stone, the kind that would have crushed Merlin had he been near them. ‘For someone so clumsy, you manage not to get killed with remarkable ease.’

Merlin shrugged. ‘You know how difficult I am to get rid of.’ He kept his words light but really he couldn’t believe Arthur was once again managing not to notice the fact that Merlin had used magic. Stampeding gargoyles could explain the smashed stones but it couldn’t very well explain how a good chunk of the wall had exploded outwards. All Merlin wanted Arthur to do was accuse him because if he did, Merlin knew he would be unable to lie to Arthur.

‘It’s a fact I’m grudgingly grateful for,’ murmured Arthur, brushing past Merlin to exit the dungeon.

Merlin stared after Arthur for a moment before rushing to catch up with him.

‘Come on, Merlin, don’t get left behind.’ He glanced over at him. ‘We have to prepare for the funerals.’

Merlin nodded silently, knowing that nothing he could say could stop Arthur from feeling guilty. IN all honesty, this time, he didn’t know what he could say.


End file.
